OPPOSITION PROTESTS FUJIMORI'S POLICIES WITH 1-DAY STRIKE

Tribune News ServicesCHICAGO TRIBUNE

President Alberto Fujimori faced one of Peru's broadest national protests in a decade as labor unions and opposition parties staged a strike Wednesday against poverty, unemployment and his possible 2000 re-election bid.

Fujimori deployed more than 20,000 police backed by soldiers to keep order in industrial areas and on roads as many public-sector, transport and construction workers obeyed a strike call by the top labor union.

The one-day strike and protest marches were seen as a test case for Peru's opposition, which has struggled to unite ahead of Fujimori's expected bid for an unprecedented third term in 2000.

"This is the first strong show of force after almost nine years in which unions and social sectors have not been able to demonstrate on this scale," political analyst Alberto Adrianzen said.

Most protests took place peacefully but police clashed with strikers in Lima's center as protesters threw stones, burned tires and attacked open shops.